Digital Tattoos: The Experiment

Posted: 18/05/2015 by
Cox Purtell

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string(5272) "I recently read a great article on LinkedIn explaining that social media posts should be treated as digital tattoos; permanent expressions of your character which can be used for (or against) you for years to come.
As a recruitment company, we’re always warning candidates to be careful what they post on any digital platform. But it really got me thinking. What’s my digital footprint?
I graduated high school in 2005, which was the birth of the era of MySpace, closely followed by Facebook. We were avid users of MSN Messenger, and ICQ was already old news. During this time, there is no way I would have been even remotely concerned about the impact my online activities could have on my future employment prospects.
With that in mind, I decided to embark upon a digital audit on myself AND be brave enough to write a blog about it, no matter what I found.
Perhaps luckily for me, in year 8 I decided to change the spelling of my first name (because I was like, so totally cool and unique). This nickname unintentionally became my online pseudonym which I still use today to separate my personal and professional life. The searches I carried out are for both my online pseudonym (not telling) as well as my real name, Christina.
Google Search for my online pseudonym
Google is the most obvious place to start, so here are my findings:

A Facebook event for my friend’s pole studio competition appears under my name which, according to Facebook, I was attending. My profile is pretty much as private as it can be, but as the event is public, so too is my record of attendance.

A Facebook link to a photo from the Beresford Hotel that I have been tagged in.

A link to the Movember website showing a donation I made to my friend last year using my (pseudonym) name.

A link to a strange site called Null The Worm. There is a photo of me in high school, with an admittedly embarrassing bio stating my dislikes, in my own awkward high school words as: “rude people, Woolworths and Mr Moustachetits” (the latter being our charming nickname for one of our teachers). I probably disliked Woolworths because at the time I worked for them as a bored checkout chick with an attitude to boot. Disclaimer: I have absolutely nothing against Woolworths, their Select soups are delicious.

I digress.
So how did this information and photo of me slagging my employer and teacher end up on the internet? I definitely didn’t post it. I have a vague memory of my friend completing an assignment in her computer class which is probably how it ended up online circa 2002.
But why is it still there? What is this Null The Worm site anyway? It looks as though the site was created and hosted using a free site builder. I clicked around for a while and realised I was not the only one from my school who had a photo profile, with a bio that screamed “angst ridden teenager”.
What if my real name was on there, and was visible through a simple Google search? It certainly doesn’t reflect the person I am now. If I wanted this content removed, where would I go? Who would I contact? Do I have any right to ask for the content to be removed?
As far as this post goes, what’s done is done. So, things could be worse, but this is definitely an embarrassing digital tattoo that I don’t need in my life.
Google Search for my real name – Christina Knock

I recently read a great article on LinkedIn explaining that social media posts should be treated as digital tattoos; permanent expressions of your character which can be used for (or against) you for years to come.

As a recruitment company, we’re always warning candidates to be careful what they post on any digital platform. But it really got me thinking. What’s my digital footprint?

I graduated high school in 2005, which was the birth of the era of MySpace, closely followed by Facebook. We were avid users of MSN Messenger, and ICQ was already old news. During this time, there is no way I would have been even remotely concerned about the impact my online activities could have on my future employment prospects.

With that in mind, I decided to embark upon a digital audit on myself AND be brave enough to write a blog about it, no matter what I found.

Perhaps luckily for me, in year 8 I decided to change the spelling of my first name (because I was like, so totally cool and unique). This nickname unintentionally became my online pseudonym which I still use today to separate my personal and professional life. The searches I carried out are for both my online pseudonym (not telling) as well as my real name, Christina.

A Facebook event for my friend’s pole studio competition appears under my name which, according to Facebook, I was attending. My profile is pretty much as private as it can be, but as the event is public, so too is my record of attendance.

A Facebook link to a photo from the Beresford Hotel that I have been tagged in.

A link to the Movember website showing a donation I made to my friend last year using my (pseudonym) name.

A link to a strange site called Null The Worm. There is a photo of me in high school, with an admittedly embarrassing bio stating my dislikes, in my own awkward high school words as: “rude people, Woolworths and Mr Moustachetits” (the latter being our charming nickname for one of our teachers). I probably disliked Woolworths because at the time I worked for them as a bored checkout chick with an attitude to boot. Disclaimer: I have absolutely nothing against Woolworths, their Select soups are delicious.

I digress.

So how did this information and photo of me slagging my employer and teacher end up on the internet? I definitely didn’t post it. I have a vague memory of my friend completing an assignment in her computer class which is probably how it ended up online circa 2002.

But why is it still there? What is this Null The Worm site anyway? It looks as though the site was created and hosted using a free site builder. I clicked around for a while and realised I was not the only one from my school who had a photo profile, with a bio that screamed “angst ridden teenager”.

What if my real name was on there, and was visible through a simple Google search? It certainly doesn’t reflect the person I am now. If I wanted this content removed, where would I go? Who would I contact? Do I have any right to ask for the content to be removed?

As far as this post goes, what’s done is done. So, things could be worse, but this is definitely an embarrassing digital tattoo that I don’t need in my life.

Thankfully the last search on my full name has returned professional profiles only. I’m more than happy for my current (or prospective) employers to see this information, and I’m confident that it won’t hinder any future employment opportunities.

Take a minute to think – what is the internet saying about you?

Have you Googled yourself? What did you find?

I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to write your thoughts in the comments below, or Tweet me @ChristinaK_CP.